Sweden wants to tear up an agreement with Portugal and start taxing its pensioners who have chosen to live in Portugal in recent years as fiscal residents. According to the newspaper Public, Sweden plans to revoke the tax treaty signed with Portugal in 2002 and start taxing pensioners who have been exempt from assessment in both countries.

In 2019, the two governments signed an agreement with amendments to the rules that would allow Sweden to tax the pensions of its nationals living in Portuguese territory. Stockholm has already ratified the agreement, but Lisbon still has not.

“The combination of the Portuguese tax regime for Non‑Habitual Residents (RNH) with the tax convention originally signed with Sweden makes Portugal a fiscal paradise for Swedish pensioners.”, declared Swedish Minister of Finance, Magdalena Andersson. “We are submitting this proposal to Parliament. I can withdraw it if the Portuguese Government implements the treaty quickly.”

Asked how much Sweden has lost in tax revenues since 2009, the minister responded that the loss of tax revenues is not the primary reason for tearing up the double tax convention. “The possibility given to wealthier citizens to pay 0 or 10%, while ordinary citizens pay much more, is a fiscal injustice that undermines the credibility of the fiscal system. Some Swedish citizens have an income of millions of euros yet do not pay any tax. The 10% rate is too low and is much less than what a regular pensioner in Portugal pays,” affirmed the Swedish Finance Minister.

Since last year, the exemption in Portugal for foreign earned pensions ended. Pensioners who have non‑habitual resident status pay a tax of 10% on retirement benefits paid by their country of origin. The rule does not apply to those who already benefit from NHR or who have already signed up for the status. New taxpayers in Portugal lose their double tax exemption and will be taxed at a rate of 10% on their pensions. The option must be chosen when submitting the declaration during 2021.

– Visa exemption for traveling within the Schengen Area;

– Family reunification even for children studying abroad;

– Applying for permanent residence after 5 years of residency;

– Applying for Portuguese citizenship after 5 years.

– Possibility of applying to Non-Habitual Residency regime.